Potty Training Prisoner

I feel like a prisoner. In my own home. Locked in the bathroom. All week.

{Sigh}

Last Thursday evening, I got the bright idea that it was time to potty train Brody. Really potty train him. (For previous potty stories look here, here, and here.) It was the first weekend in a really long time that I haven't had anywhere that I had to be. No obligations. No deadlines. No responsibilities. Just a lot of free time to watch the pot. (Bad joke, I know. Give me a break, I've been in isolation.)

I decided that it was time to enforce the naked potty training method. No diapers. No pants. Just cheeks. Cute little "I wanna squeeze" them cheeks. All over my house. All day long.

I thought a sticker chart would be a good motivator, so I grabbed a scrap piece of poster board out of my craft closet and got my art on. A star sticker for every pee-pee in the potty and a Cars (the movie)sticker for every poo-poo in the potty. It was genius. Fool proof. Why wouldn't he want to poo-poo on the potty for an oh-so-cool Lightning McQueen sticker?!

I started out very optimistic. This might just be easy after all, I thought. Thursday evening Brody earned his first star sticker for a pee-pee. Easy PEEsy. Nothing to it. Just a little patience and some time spent sitting on the stool in front of him while he worked it out. Surely, it wouldn't take him as long the next time. He figured it out. Pee-pee goes in the potty. Not in the diaper. Star sticker earned. Praises sung. Wam. Bam. Done.

Wrong.

It has been one week now and I've realized two things: 1. It's true what others have told me all my life. I do have a bony butt. 2. I should have splurged for a cushioned stool.

Oh, stool, how I loathe thee.

I am drained. My back hurts. My butt hurts. {See above} My legs are tired of squatting. My arms are tired of picking up 30 pounds of what can only be described as a solid boy. My eyes hurt from watching him all day, every day for a week. My head hurts from the constant thoughts of does he need to pee-pee?does he need to poo-poo? will he do it this time? how much longer will I have to sit on this stool?
I'm tired. I don't have it in me to give you the play-by-play tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, I just needed to pour my heart out.

One more thing, on a more serious note, that I wanted to share with you tonight. You may have already heard about this, but I wanted to put it out there for those of you who haven't.

On July 3rd while returning from an annual family road trip in Colorado back to their home in Houston, Texas the Berry Family found themselves to be victims of a horrific and tragic fatal car accident. Their Minivan carrying parents Joshua and Robin Berry and their children Peter age 9, Aaron age 8, and Willa age 6 was hit head on by another vehicle who had crossed into their lane of traffic. The parents Joshua and Robin Berry were tragically killed leaving their 3 children behind. While the children did survive the crash, both boys sustained serious spinal cord injuries and they are both paralyzed below the waist. The children are currently being treated for their many injuries in a Houston, Texas area hospital.

Show Your Hearts will facilitate the efforts of all people who want to come to these children's aid and support them in this time of need. Donations will be made directly to the Joshua and Robin Berry Children's Trust.

As a mother and someone who works with special needs children I was moved to action. You can help too by clicking the image below.

Your chart looks great. You did an "excellent" job on it. I give you a big huge * for your creativity and neatness!! But I'm not seeing too many Brody stars or Cars on it! Maybe he's just not ready at this time. I can speak from experience...when he's ready, it will be a cinch to potty train him! If it were me, I'd wait another 3 months and try it again. He may or may not be ready even then. If not, wait another 3 months. You're a great mom. Hang in there!! Love you! ~Wynni